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SOTA c72s01
Text Stars twinkled in the skies above as Thesis approached Ponyville, Protelea grinning eagerly as she hurried quickly along beside him. Kismet was at his other side, but the death entity was refusing to speak to him, and it hurt the Replicant in a way he hadn't expected. Behind them was a sea of soldiers: grinning Nibelung dressed in hide armor, many of them carrying rusted, chipped weapons, their fur thin and patchy and their eyes glowing and malevolent with Helheim's poisons. Dullahan marched calmly alongside skittering, ticking Soldier Drone shapeshifters and expressionless Worker Drones, and there were several Clockwork Ponies in the mix as well. Demons and undead abominations filled out the rest of the ranks, some controlled by parasites like Protelea's Necrotrophs, the more-intelligent ones simply throwing their bids in with Thesis, rewarded and empowered by the concentrated Clay of Prometheus in return. And he had brought other 'friends' as well, who were lurking in the forest to the eastern side of the small village, poised to move in and strike. Tyrant Wyrms laughed at him and mocked him, but they were programmed to obey him all the same. He only hoped he wouldn't be forced to use them. He wanted this to go as smoothly as possible without resorting to any crueler strategies, after all. Thesis glanced up at the clouds overhead, and he frowned in distaste before calling clearly over his shoulder: “Release the Thunderbirds!” Dullahan turned towards massive iron cages being dragged along by groups of Worker Drones, the gray, pony-shaped creatures not flinching even when a large demon stepped on one and crushed it by accident. The headless knights opened the cage doors and rasped orders and threats at the cyclopean birds until one of the flying golems finally gave a shriek and leapt out of the cage as its wings unfurled, a Dullahan flailing wildly as it was hefted into the air by the steely avian before the headless knight was flung through the crowd, demons laughing loudly at the folly of the soldier. Thesis sighed even as his Thunderbirds leapt from their cages to take over the sky, shooting forwards to tear apart the clouds and begin to circle above Ponyville like vultures. Thesis looked grimly up at this, and then he strode forwards before wincing and staggering when floodlights burst into being, blinding him for a moment even as he shielded his eyes with a foreleg as Protelea hissed and Kismet only calmly gazed through the field that was now lit up as bright as day. “Take your pigeons and get the hell out of here before I come out there and kick your ass!” shouted an amplified mare's voice that Thesis didn't recognize, and the Replicant scowled at this before gesturing to his army to hold their positions, and then he strode towards Ponyville's gates. “Parley! Send out someone to negotiate! My army is vastly superior to your forces, I will overwhelm and destroy your little town with ease, but I am still willing to discuss terms of surrender!” Thesis shouted clearly back, and there was silence for a few moments before the Replicant began to smile as the gates opened slightly... and then he frowned in surprise as a Draconequus leisurely strode out, his arms spread, a calm smile on his features. Thesis recognized him, mostly due to the fact the creature was wearing a prosthetic limb. The Replicant bared his teeth at this, leaning forwards and asking with disgust: “And what is this? Where are Luna Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms, or the other Valkyrie reborn, Celestia Freya! I demand to speak to one of your leaders not... not some pathetic patchwork doll!” Discombobulation only shrugged, halting and bowing deeply as he replied politely: “Well, in the words of the great philosopher Jagger, 'you can't always get what you want.' But we're starting off on the wrong foot here: you can call me Bob, and I'll be your negotiator for this evening. I don't see this lasting very long because all I pretty much have been told to tell you is to 'step off,' which is semi-polite for 'go screw yourself, we're not giving you what you want.'” “Are you stupid, or just blind?” Thesis snarled, striding forwards as his eyes glowed and he rose his head high, glaring at the Draconequus. “You ignorant worm, I should kill you for speaking to me like that after all the mercy I have shown your kind! All I desire is to feel complete... not that I expect your kind to know anything about that, you disgusting pile of scraps.” “Hey. Hey. Words can hurt, you know.” Discombobulation touched his own chest, looking unperturbed before he pointed calmly in the direction of Ponyville. “Inside there are a thousand people all waiting to step up and defend ponies that even I am proud to call my friends. Inside there is a young, innocent child that you seem to want to sacrifice at the altar of yourself.” “You... Luna and Scrivener have forced me to take this course of action! This is not my fault, you are the ones who have forced this way... but look...” Thesis gritted his teeth, leaning forwards and imploring: “Give me Luna and Scrivener. They are all I truly require. I will be satisfied with them, my machine can be calibrated to rip the necessary data from their genes and copy their biorhythms onto me and... and I will be complete at last! But if you force me... if you push me... I will kill you all, and I will take the little girl, and I will forgo all kindness in order to ensure that even being forced to used data harvested from corpses, I can still reach completion. But it will be far, far more painful for us all.” Discombobulation shook his head slowly, and then he said softly: “Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old before thou hadst been wise. Unless, of course, you want to end up a mad old king wandering around blindly, screaming and broken and just not at all in a good way. Here, let me quote some more old dead author advice for you that happens to be relevant to this situation: 'get thee hence.'” Thesis looked up at the Draconequus, and then he bared his steel teeth and said sharply: “Our conversation is over and negotiations have clearly failed. Go inside, and tell your friends that in ten minutes, if Luna and Scrivener are not surrendered to me, I shall send my army to attack in full force. Yes, I see your pretty little town with your pretty lights and pathetic wooden walls, but you fail to understand something: you are nothing but grovelling villagers. I have an army!” Discombobulation looked calmly for a moment at the Replicant, and then he rose a hand and suddenly grinned, retorting sharply: “And we have a Hulk.” He snapped his fingers and vanished in a crackle of green light, and Thesis had enough time to glance up in surprise before both gates were suddenly shoved open. The Replicant was left simply staring in stupefaction at what he saw, managing out only a single name: “Vallation?” Shiny strode out through the gates, a snarl on his features and curved wall of energy protecting his body as he glared fearlessly out at the army in front of him. And mounted over his back, counterbalanced by enormous weights and a massive ammo box that the Clockwork Pony carried with ease thanks to his almost all-steel body, Parsimony was already whirring, the Vulcan cannon gearing up before he leaned forwards and roared. It was swallowed up by the sound of the gatling gun beginning to fire, Thesis staggering backwards and covering his face as bullets tore scratches through his hide and ricocheted off his body, Parsimony tracing back and forth as casings fell in a rain around Shiny. Bullets tore through the ranks of ponies behind him, Protelea screaming and leaping to the air as Kismet only calmly stood with his steel hands laced in front of him, ignoring the rounds ripping smoking holes through his cloak while the more-physical soldiers behind him yelled and panicked, breaking their formation. Shiny slowly began to step backwards, teeth grit in a grin even as his entire body quaked from Parsimony continuing to fire, concentrating the Vulcan cannon's bullets in the area around Thesis before the Clockwork Pony gasped and staggered backwards as he finally released his telekinetic grip on the trigger of the massive weapon. At the same time, Nibelung hurriedly dragged the gates back closed, while Cowlick grinned widely over at the metal stallion as he dropped his head forwards, shield vanishing from in front of him as he wheezed loudly. “That should give the bastard something to think about.” Cowlick muttered, and then she rose the megaphone in one hoof up and roared through it: “We're right here waiting for you, asshole! Take all the time you need to change your panties!” Thesis looked up at this provocation, trembling violently even as the scratches over his scales healed, and then he bared his fangs in a snarl before stomping a hoof against the ground and glaring over his shoulder when Protelea nervously touched down. “Take your Necrotrophs and wait for the army to draw out the soldiers, then attack from the western flank. Get that filly. I don't care how you do it... kill them, torture them if you have to, then bring as much of that child as you can. She doesn't have to be alive. I just need enough pieces of her to extract her genetic information.” Protelea licked her lips at this, giggling loudly before she flew back into the army, and Thesis breathed hard in and out, then his eyes turned to Kismet and he snapped: “You! Go in with your Reapers and start killing them. Start killing them all. Kill them all!” “No.” Kismet said quietly, and Thesis looked stunned as the death entity slowly rose his head, standing calm and dignified as he laced his metal hands together behind his back. “I won't do it. You may destroy me if you want to, child, but for all the power you do hold over me, you still cannot force me to take part in mass slaughter and genocide. I may not be able to stop you, I may not be able to help the ponies who deserve it, but I can at least deny you my aid and the aid of my kindred.” “You... you're supposed to my friend! Help me!” Thesis almost screamed, losing all coherency and calm to utter rage as he spun around, stomping his hooves childishly, and then Kismet strode suddenly forwards and reached down to catch the stallion's shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I am trying to help you.” the death entity said quietly, his glowing eyes locking with Thesis' own desperate gaze. “Goodbye, Thesis.” With that, Kismet straightened and vanished, and Thesis trembled before he snarled slowly as he turned his eyes towards his army of uneasy soldiers. He stared back and forth over the chaotic, disordered lines, an then he trembled violently before leaning forwards and snarling: “There are maybe a hundred capable ponies inside those walls. There are thousands of you! Concentrate your efforts on swarming this side of the village, tear holes, bring down those gates! Demons, vault the walls! Dullahan, phalanx positions and protect the Workers while they bring the rams and explosives forwards! And first come, first serve: I don't care what you take, I don't care what you do, but you bring me the corpses of Luna Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms! Now go!” Thesis' army roared and swarmed forwards, and Thesis turned around to glare towards Ponyville before a cruel grin spread over his features as he ordered in a cold voice in a terrible language: “Rise, servants. Your master commands it. Find our little brother. Kill him.” Amidst broken, gnarled trees that had warped just from the presence of the two enormous, terrible creatures that had slipped their way into this forest, glowing, emotionless eyes of sapphire malevolence opened. Twisted, cruel grins spread over the features of the Wyrms as they both rose their heads, both massive and ponderous and terrible, beginning to smash and tear their way through trees like icebreakers driving their way through a northern floe. But one of them was even larger than the other, even more malevolent, as it mocked openly: “We do not march for your sake. We march to play with our little brother. You are nothing but the adopted orphan.” Thesis bared his teeth, looking away before he shook his head sharply and brought his eyes coldly up, breathing hard before he stepped backwards and vanished, not bothering to stay and watch as his army surged against the walls of Ponyville, promptly meeting resistance in the form of bolts, bullets, and boiling oil. Inside the walls, Cowlick grimaced and looked up as Shiny anchored himself at the ready in front of the gates. Pegasi were already taking to the air to keep the Thunderbirds at bay, and other ponies were firing both guns and spells towards the metal birds while the soldiers stationed atop the walls used the floodlights to their advantage, keeping the creatures attempting to climb the walls blinded while they knocked enemies loose from the wall. Then Cowlick cursed as several clearly-hostile demons simply appeared out of nowhere past their first line of defense with mocking laughs. Shiny began to turn... except the invading demons then hit their second line as Morning Glory stomped the skull of one of the Wrath demons under one hoof, snarling: “Worthless maggots, do you have any idea how war is fought?” The demons that had slipped by were crushed as Nibelung hurried to reinforce the gates as they rattled violently, and Cowlick dug out a loose cigarette to shove into her muzzle before she shouted: “Remember, Shiny, eyes front, let the others worry about whatever goes on behind you! I gotta go get myself set up in my nest!” Shiny nodded sharply, and Cowlick turned to hurry off, running past the line of soldiers standing at the ready to charge and defend Ponyville once their defenses were breached. As she ran towards the center of town, she passed Greece, who quickly checked the pocketwatch in his hand before nodding sharply to the unicorn dressed in lightweight armor beside him. The mare nodded sharply, then snapped her horn upwards, sending up a flare of light that signaled several groups around Ponyville, who all immediately went to work. Luna, Scrivener and Twilight left the library; Nibelung shouted orders down to other workers waiting in one of the maintenance rooms below; Celestia and Sleipnir quickly left town hall as Antares moved his group into position from the main square. The battle had begun, as the players all moved into their positions: and the only thing anyone knew for sure was that it wasn't going to be a long fight, no matter what happened. Too much was moving against Ponyville, too fast: either the army Thesis had brought against them would be destroyed, or they would quickly overwhelm the ponies desperate to defend both themselves and the ponies that the Replicant was so eager to destroy. Top ↑